New Norisu Nine
by Zephyros-Phoenix
Summary: DISCONTINUED - RandyxOC. Piper Quinn is a new student at Norrisville High, and secretly the Violet Ninja. When she arrives, she befriends Randy and Howard, and a silent student named Cyrus. Piper discovers she's not the only ninja in Norrisville and that if the Sorcerer is to be defeated, the Norisu Nine must be reformed. The only problem is, Randy has no clue he's got teammates.
1. Who's Bruce?

**Ok, here by popular demand: the first chapter to my RC9GN story. I'll admit, I don't think I've ever gotten this many requests to write a story before. But, let's just say they finally got to me. There you go guys, you succeeded! **

**However, I must make one thing clear! I have no ending planned whatsoever! No conclusion, nothing! Therefore, this story will likely only feature a few chapters (of a shorter length than my usual chapters) and the story will more than likely be left on hiatus. But, as I always say, I'd rather have a slice of the cake than have no cake at all! Those of you who follow me on deviantart, this story will center mostly on my and D-Sniper's main ninjas: Piper and Cyrus as they support Randy as the ninja. The rest of our New Norisu Nine will come in at a later time. **

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"All right sweetheart, have a good first day of school!" A woman called out through the window of her car.

"I will! Thanks mom!" a girl with long, bright orange hair called back with a wave.

"Oh, I have to work late tonight so you're on your own for dinner. All right?"

"Got it!"

"And don't worry, Piper. I'm sure you'll make some new friends in no time," Piper mother said reassuringly.

"I know, mom," Piper muttered before finally turning away and entering the large school through the front doors. "Wow…" she gasped in amazement, taking in the beautiful sight of the school lobby and the tiled golden carp on the floor. Maybe this new school wouldn't be so bad after all and considering how she left her old school, Piper was looking forward to a fresh start. At her old school, Piper had lots of friends, best friends even. But, within the last year or two, Piper had developed a habit of being tardy and unreliable to her friends. She'd arrive late to group events, never finish her part of group assignments on time and, well, her friends had had enough of it. Eventually, they just told her not to bother coming to hang out with them anymore. But Piper had a good reason, the only problem was that it wasn't one that she could share with her friends, which only made things worse between them. Piper wasn't just a run of the mill schoolgirl; she was also a ninja. She couldn't explain it, and even if she could, who would believe her? But, one day, she found this mysterious black book with purple markings in her room with a mask of similar coloration. When she opened the book for the first time, it felt like she was being sucked into its pages and all this knowledge suddenly flooded her mind.

She was a ninja, but not just any ninja, Piper was the Violet Ninja. She was successor to one of an ancient band of ninja warriors and she loved it. The book, which was called the NinjaCodex, taught her many skills and powers. And when she put on the mask, a black and purple ninja suit materialized over her body in an instant! However, all her time spent being a ninja caught up to her. So, when her mother came to her with news that they would be moving to Norrisville, Piper was completely on board. She didn't see any way of patching up her friendship without revealing her secret, so going somewhere else to start over seemed like the next best option.

But when she looked at all the students walking around her, she couldn't help but feel nervous. What if the same thing happened with her old friends? What if she made some friends here and her secret just ended up driving them away? She couldn't bear to go through that again!

All of a sudden, she felt something bump into her from behind and the force of the impact knocked her onto the ground as someone fell on top of her. "Ow!"

"Nice going, Cunningham!" exclaimed a boy.

"Whoa, uh sorry about that!" said another boy. When Piper felt the weight lift off her, she turned over onto her back and saw two boys standing over her: one short and stout with orange hair and the other tall and thin with dark purple hair. "You ok?" the dark haired boy asked as he extended his hand out to her.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it," she insisted, taking the boy's hand and standing up.

"Come on, Cunningham! We've got to get to Señora Jorge's class on time or she'll give us another detention! Do you know what my parents will do to me if I get a third detention this week? They'll cut my allowance again and I won't be able to buy the new Grave Puncher!" the short boy whined.

"Relax Howard, we've still got time! Haven't seen you around before, you new?"

"Yeah, Piper," she said, extending her hand as she introduced herself.

"Randy," the boy replied, shaking it. "And this is Howard," he continued, gesturing to the short boy.

"Yeah, yeah, can we speed this up?" Howard asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Chill, Howard! So, did you just move here?" Randy asked.

"Yeah, today's my first day actually. The school is really impressive, but I'm having trouble finding my way around here."

"Hey, no problem. We'll help you out!" Randy exclaimed.

"We will?" Howard asked.

"Yeah, stick with us and you'll know what's Bruce and what's wonk!"

"…Who's Bruce?" Piper asked, confused.

"Uh, what?" Howard asked.

"Who's Bruce?" Piper asked again.

"Uh, Bruce isn't a person," Randy explained, "It just means 'cool' or 'awesome'!"

"Oh, ok. But then who is Bruce? If it's a saying, then it had to come from somewhere, and I'm assuming it came from someone named Bruce!"

"Uh, Cunningham, we gotta ditch this chick before she schoobs us and our rep!" Howard whispered to Randy.

"Howard, we don't even have a rep! Remember? We're at the bottom of the high school food chain!"

"So what does 'schoob' mean?" Piper asked.

"Uh…." Randy and Howard both uttered.

"Yes, I could hear what you were saying. And it's cool if you guys wanna ditch me. I understand," Piper smiled.

"Uh, well, you've got poetry with Ms. Zingwald. Her class is just down that hall, third door on your right," Randy said, passing Piper back her schedule.

"Thanks, oh," she grunted, feeling someone bump into her again. She regained her balance with a step and caught a glimpse of a boy with light green hair walking away from her.

"Watch it," she heard him mutter.

"Hey! You bumped into me!" she shouted at him. "Geez, who was that guy?"

"Oh, you mean Silent Cyrus? Don't worry about him, he's just some schoob that never talks. Seriously! The guy barely says a word," Randy explained.

"Seems like a jerk to me. So not Bruce… Did I use that right?" she asked them.

"Ehh, you'll get the hang of it," Howard said.

"Well, I guess I'll just catch you guys around. Thanks for the help, Randy!" she waved, running off to her class. For the most part, the rest of her day was uneventful. She didn't see Randy and Howard again until lunchtime. She was about go and sit with them until all of a sudden, a thin girl with shoulder length, orange hair came up to her with a camera.

"What's up Norrisville? Heidi Weinerman here with the new student! So, tell us your name!" she beamed, pointing the video camera at Piper.

"Uh…. What's happening?" Piper asked, confused at what was going on.

"You're on Norrisville's number 1 MeCast, Heidi School. Go on new kid, introduce yourself!"

"Uh, well I'm Piper… Piper Quinn and I'm new! But you already knew that…" Piper laughed nervously.

"And there you have it! How long do you think the new girl will last? Cast your votes!"

"Wait, last? What are you talking about?" But before Piper could get an answer, Heidi was off on her way. Piper scanned the cafeteria again for Randy and Howard, but they were already gone. Piper sighed in disappointment, but perked up a bit when she noticed Cyrus off at a corner table sitting by himself. She took a deep breath before marching over to the table. Cyrus looked up at her, saying nothing, while she simply asked, "This seat taken?" When he didn't say anything, she took a seat and said, "That wasn't a 'no'. So, what did camera girl there mean by 'last'?"

"Don't concern yourself with it," Cyrus spoke quietly.

"You speak," Piper noted.

"It's just high school. People like Heidi feed on stuff like this: the rise and fall on the school food chain."

"Thanks… Well, I'm done my lunch so, I guess I'll just catch ya later," Piper said, as she cleaned up her tray and sat up from the table. All of a sudden, a giant robot preying mantis burst into the cafeteria, causing mass panic. Students ran for their lives as the mantis destroyed parts of the building. A large chunk of the ceiling suddenly fell from above directly over Piper but before it could crush her, she felt someone tackle her to the ground and away from the falling debris. When whoever saved her moved away, she sat up and saw that it was Cyrus who had saved her. "Thanks, what was that?" she asked, but when she turned to him, he was gone.

Piper got up to her feet and followed most of the students as they ran from the chaos. She spotted Howard standing in the middle of the hallway and ran over to him. "Howard, what's going on?"

"Oh you know, robots attacking the school. The usual," he replied calmly, almost even uninterested.

"THIS IS USUAL?" Piper shrieked.

"You'll get used to it," he said casually. "It'll all be over once the ninja shows up."

"Ninja?" Before she could say anything else, Piper could hear the students cheering "Ninja! Ninja!" from outside. She followed several students outside and saw the students gathered around the robot mantis as a boy in a black and red ninja suit with a long red scarf fought it. "Who's that?"

"That is the Norrisville Ninja. He fights all the monsters and robots that show up. How do you not know this?" Howard asked, waving his arms.

"Uh, I just moved here, remember?" Piper backed away from the fight and reached into her messenger bag. When she felt the fabric of her ninja mask, she wrapped her fingers around it tightly. As she prepared to pull it out of her bag, she felt someone's hand wrap around her wrist. Her head shot up and she saw none other than Cyrus. He didn't say anything, instead he simply shook his head, as if telling her not to do what she was thinking of doing. But how could he possibly know what she was planning to do. She let go of her mask just as Cyrus pulled her forward by her arm, dragging her with him behind the school. "What are you doing?" she cried, tearing her arm from his grip.

She watched as Cyrus reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a black domino mask with green lines running down the mask vertically. With wide eyes, she watched as Cyrus put the mask over his eyes. Black and green clothed tendrils wrapped around his body into a form fitting black suit with green lightning bolts. Piper just stood there with her jaw dropped as a Cyrus, now dressed fully in a ninja suit, turned to her and said, "Don't just stand there. Get your mask on."

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**Well, what did you guys think of the first chapter? I think I should go back and rewatch RC (for like the third time) just so I can refresh myself on Randy and Howard's characters as well as the school setting. If you guys have any suggestions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment!**

**Also, with Piper, I thought maybe the slang is local only to Norrisville. So, maybe it would be funny if Piper had no idea what they were talking about XD**


	2. The Duty of a Ninja

**Next chapter, yay! Glad you guys are enjoying it so far. I highly encourage leaving comments. Please do not just +fav/+follow. Feedback helps me improve as a writer and allows me to create a more enjoyable reading experience for you. So, I encourage you guys to leave comments on aspects you either enjoyed or did not enjoyed, were confused about or even suggest something you'd like to see!**

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"Don't just stand there. Get your mask on," Cyrus said to her. Piper just stood there with eyes wide, overcome with shock at everything going on. "Hey!" Piper finally came out of her trance when she felt Cyrus grab her shoulder and give her a rough shake. "Get your mask on," he said again.

Piper quickly fumbled for her mask in her messenger bag. When she got a hold of it, she dropped her bag on the ground and wrap the mask around her face, causing her ninja suit to suddenly materialize on her body. Strangely enough, the only thing the ninja suit didn't cover was the feathered earring she wore on her left ear. She reached up and took out her ribboned headband before using it to tie her hair up in a high ponytail. When she noticed Cyrus already reach the roof of the school, Piper immediately followed up after him.

"You're a ninja too?" Piper asked.

"Green," Cyrus replied. He pointed his finger down to the chaos below and said, "Red." Piper walked to the edge of the roof and saw a ninja in a black and red suit battling the robot had attacked the school.

"Another one? Aren't we going to help him?"

"No," Cyrus replied.

"No? Why not?"

"That's not our job. Red can handle it."

"What do you mean 'our job'?"

"Didn't your book tell you?"

"How do you know all of this?" Piper cried.

"My NinjaAtlas told me you'd arrive soon," he explained.

"That's how you knew I was a ninja?"

"Yes."

"I still don't understand why we're not helping him!"

"Relax. Red can take care of himself. We only interfere if his life is at risk or his identity is at risk of being exposed."

"I'm so confused," she whined.

"The Norisu Nine, a band of nine brothers who defended this land in ancient times from evil. Namely, the Sorcerer. All of Norrisville thinks that there's only one ninja, but there are nine," Cyrus explained.

"Nine?"

"Red down there hogs the spotlight, leaving the rest of us the opportunity to do our work without any trouble. Blue guards the Sorcerer's prison, Black and White do reconnaissance on the enemy, Gold, Pink and Orange are on perimeter duty while Violet and Green shadow Red. Our job is to make sure Red doesn't get himself killed or worse, expose his identity."

"Right because exposing his identity is worse than him dying. But I still don't understand why we aren't helping him!"

"We don't interfere unless it's absolutely necessary," Cyrus said in a serious tone.

"Does he even know about the rest of us?"

"No."

"No? Why not?"

"If he knows that he's meant to distract all of Norrisville, he's going to mess up, make a mistake, expose us! He does a better job when he doesn't know he's a red herring."

"But that's not fair! He should know about the rest of us!" As Piper moved to join the Red Ninja in battle, Cyrus stopped her and grabbed her arm roughly.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing? Red's not just a distraction. Thanks to him, the bad guys only think there's one of us. Do you have any idea the amount of destruction the Sorcerer and McFist would bring about if they knew there were really nine ninjas?"

"I…"

"One day, Red will know about the rest of us, but that day is not today. Until then, we shadow him. And if you try to expose us in any way, well, there's no shortage of ninja replacements around here," Cyrus narrowed his eyes in a deathly glare as he uttered his threat to Piper, who cowered in fright. She sheepishly stood behind him as he continued watching the Red Ninja battle the robot. With a swift stroke of his blade, Red sliced the head off the robot, defeating it. "All right, we're done here. And remember," he said, turning to Piper, "Every ninja of the Norisu Nine has their duty. Don't fail yours of you're out."

After she took off her mask and went back inside the school, Piper dashed into the girls' bathroom and into an empty stall. She pulled out the large square book in her bag: the NinjaCodex. It was black with violet markings along the cover, back and spine. When she opened the book, its pages flashed brightly and she felt her mind enter the book.

"Whooooooaaaa!" she cried, falling through the pages until she saw the ground appear beneath her. She flipped her body upright and managed to land on her feet perfectly. "Is it true? Are there other ninjas?" she asked the book. An image of nine ninjas appeared before her and Piper read out loud, "In ancient time, the Norisu Nine protected Norrisville from evil. While the youngest of them was the only survivor, each of the Nine had their own suits and bonded spirits that they passed on to chosen successors. When the Sorcerer breaks free from his prison one day, all the Norisu Nine will be needed to defeat him and restore harmony. So there are nine of us. But how come Red shouldn't know? If he's part of this team, he should at least know he's got teammates!" The image of ninjas disappeared as words formed in the sky. "Knowledge can do as much harm as good," she read. The images around her suddenly swirled around and she suddenly found herself back in her room. "So there's nine ninjas including myself and I can't tell Red… Cyrus made that very clear with his death threat."

When she came out of the bathroom, Piper caught sight of Randy and Howard in the hallway and ran up to them.. "Randy! I was so worried about you. You disappeared when that giant robot attacked!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, me? Hehe, nothing to worry about Piper. I just, uh, got somewhere so I could watch the ninja kick some robot butt!" Randy explained with a nervous laugh.

Piper cocked her eyebrow in suspicion, finding something odd about Randy's behavior. But she shrugged her shoulders and brushed the thought aside. She had only known him for less than a day after all. For all she knew, this could have been normal for him.

"What you're not gonna ask about me? I'm hurt, new girl!" Howard cried.

"Oh, sorry Howard, but I didn't think you liked me very much."

"Well, that doesn't mean I still don't like being asked," Howard said, crossing his arms.

"Ok, ok, Howard, are you ok?" Piper asked.

"Yes, thank you," he replied.

"So, Piper, you doing anything after school?" Randy asked.

"Well, nothing actually."

"Cool, you wanna come over to my house? I just got the new Grave Puncher game and Howard and I were gonna play it!"

"Cunningham!" Howard interjected, but Randy simply shushed him.

"Grave Puncher?"

"Oh, Cunningham, this schoob doesn't even know what Grave Puncher is!" Howard cried, waving his short, stubby arms eccentrically.

"Hey, now I may not know what that means, but I do not appreciate being talked to like that!" Piper said, crossing her arms and glaring angrily at Howard.

"Could you excuse us for just a minute, Piper? Thanks," Randy grinned, taking Howard aside. "Howard, why are you being so rude?"

"Because the last thing we need is a chick coming between us, especially a chick who doesn't know anything about Norrisville!"

"That's because she literally got here a day ago, Howard! Besides, you remember how popular McFist's Nukid robot was when we all thought he was an actual new student? Piper's gonna be the talk of the week and then you and I can ride on her popularity to cool town!"

"You make a compelling argument, Cunningham," Howard thought for a moment. "All right fine. But if this gets us schoobed, it's on you!"

"I'll gladly take the heat, my friend. So," Randy said, turning back to Piper, "you wanna come check out Grave Puncher? We can show you all the neat moves!"

"Sure! Just let me text my mom. She's working late tonight so I have to take care of dinner myself."

"Oh, why don't you just have dinner with me and my folks?" Randy suggested.

"Really? I wouldn't want to impose…"

"It's fine, trust me. My parents'll be cool with it." When they got to Randy's house, he let his parents know that Piper would be staying for dinner before the three of them went up to Randy's room. "Ok, so what exactly is the point of this game?"

"Uh, punching graves, duh!" Howard said.

"Yeah, I get that from the name, but isn't there anything else you're supposed to do in the game?"

"Nope, isn't it Bruce?" Randy asked.

"Oh, it's something. Not sure if 'Bruce' is how I'd describe it though," Piper said, whispering that last part quietly. "And doesn't the game seem a bit offensive. I mean gravestones are markers for the dead. It's actually really insulting and offensive to vandalize them."

"Cunningham…" Howard muttered in annoyance. Piper decided to just give the controller back to Randy and watch the two boys play instead. She could tell Howard still didn't like her. It was like every little thing she said got on his nerves. But Randy seemed to like her! He was nice to her and very welcoming! And his parents were pretty nice too, though if Piper had to say, she'd think Randy would disagree. They seemed particularly happy that Randy 'brought a girl home', as they put it. Needless to say, she and Randy blushed so furiously when his parents had suggested that. Randy practically whined and complained at them for always embarrassing him. But Piper thought it was actually funny and kinda cute seeing him get so worked up like that. When dinner was over, Piper was getting ready to leave and Randy saw her out the door.

"Oh, wait, I think I left my phone in your room," Piper said, patting her pockets.

"No worries, I'll get it for you," he replied.

"Randy! I told you to do the dishes!" his mother called.

"Uh, I can get it. It's no problem," Piper said.

"You sure?" Randy asked.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want your mother to get mad at you. I'll see you tomorrow at school!" she said, rushing up the stairs to Randy's room while he went to do the dishes. "Ok, where did I leave you?" she asked herself, scanning Randy's messy room for her phone. "Ah, there you are!" she cried, picking up her phone when she spotted it on Randy's bed. Just as she turned to leave, she noticed the NinjaCodex in her bag vibrating and glowing. When she reached for it, she noticed something glowing red in Randy's bag, making the exact same noise as her Codex. Hesitantly and scanning around to make sure no one was around, she opened Randy's bag and gasped at what she saw. She pulled out a large black book with red markings, nearly identical to her Codex, that pulsated red. Beneath that, she pulled out a black and red mask. Once she the two items and realized what they were, she dropped them back in Randy's bag and stepped away from it with wide eyes. _'Randy's the Red Ninja?'_

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**Dun dun dun! What will Piper do with this revelation?**

**Plus, I also thought it would be cool if the ninjas referred to each other by their color because they don't necessarily know each other's identities. **

**Anyway, this story will be moving at a relatively fast pace because it is a side project. Also, in case some of you guys think I'm portraying as too much of a flirt: I do not see Randy as a flirt or kind of guy actively trying to get a girlfriend. But, he's still a nice, polite and very caring guy, which can come across as flirty or even affectionate to some girls. Oh and just to be clear, I am intending for there to be some light romance between Piper and Randy, with a bit of a jealous Cyrus later in. So... love triangle, fun.**

**Next chapter: Piper struggles to keep her secret from Randy. Meanwhile, she tries to befriend Cyrus, her supposed "partner"**


	3. Green and Violet

**Chapter 3! Really getting into this now. But keep in mind: side project - short chapters.**

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Ever since Piper found that ninja mask and book in Randy's room, she had been avoiding him all week. Part of her wanted to tell Randy that she was a ninja and that she wasn't the only one! But the NinjaCodex told her not to. The Codex had never led her astray and she had always trusted its wisdom. But she wasn't bothered by the Codex's words as much as she was by Cyrus'. She wasn't sure how to interpret what he said to her, but it almost sounded like a death threat! She didn't know much about Cyrus, but he honestly frightened her. And this guy was supposed to be her partner? The first disagreement they had, he was certain to settle it with replacing her, a detail she certainly did not want him to elaborate on. When it came to lunch time, Piper scanned the cafeteria. At first, she noticed Randy and Howard, but decided not to sit with them. She still wasn't sure what to do around Randy now that she knew his secret. When she caught sight of Cyrus, she took a deep, calming breath and sat across from him.

"Not eating with Red today?" Cyrus asked when he noticed her sit down.

"No, I-wait, you know that Randy's the Red Ninja?" Piper asked.

"He doesn't do as good a job at hiding it as he thinks. Going into his NinjaNomicon in the middle of class, putting his mask on in the school hallway or in a public street when he thinks no one's looking. It's a miracle his identity hasn't been discovered yet."

"And that eccentricity and flare for showmanship makes him perfect for a red herring?"

"Exactly. Look, I wouldn't get too caught up on this whole keeping secrets from Red. The less he knows, the better."

"And how exactly does that work?" she asked.

"The rest of us can't risk Red screwing up his cover if he knows he's got a cover to maintain. He'd buckle under the pressure and mess up," Cyrus explained.

"…I guess it makes sense, but it still feels wrong… keeping this from him. He deserves to know!"

"And he will, when the time is right. Until then, we all have our part to play."

After a minute of uncomfortable silence, Piper spoke up. "So do you know who the other ninjas are?"

"No."

"No?"

"What does it matter? We'll all come together at some point in the future."

"But aren't you the least bit curious?" she asked.

"Of course. But curiosity isn't always a good thing and I'm not willing to risk Norrisville just because I want to know who's behind the other masks sooner than I already will." When he noticed Piper was being too quiet, he said, "Look, I'm sorry for what I said the other day, ok? I didn't mean to come off as… excessively harsh. I've been told I can be a jerk."

"Whoever said that isn't wrong," Piper chimed.

"I just don't want to mess this up. Being the Green Ninja is the one time I didn't screw something up. It's something I can be proud of and it's something I'm good at doing. I won't lose that and I won't let the Sorcerer be freed."

"Wow, I didn't realize you were so dedicated."

"Ever since I was a kid, I was nothing by a troublemaker. I didn't mean to, but I was always getting myself into trouble. People started staying away from me, and when I became the Green Ninja, I thought it was for the better. Being the Ninja is the one thing I've gotten right, the one thing I haven't screwed up. What about you? What's your story?"

"Oh, I didn't think you'd be interested in hearing anything about me."

"Our books say we're supposed to be partners so we might as well get to know each other. The more we know about each other, the better we can work together," he reasoned.

"Ok then. Well, there's not much to tell really. I'm just a normal girl from the normalest town in the world who one day found a strange glowing book and mask in her bedroom. I didn't have any misters or killer robots to fight but there were a few punks and thieves that deserved the occasional butt whopping. Other than that, I went to school, hung out with my friends, you know, did normal teenage girl stuff!"

"…But?" Cyrus asked, sensing her dismay.

"When you spend so much time running across rooftops and being a ninja, you start to neglect your friends. It was fine the first few times I was late whenever we hung out, but when I kept turning in my part for group projects late and my tardiness got worse, they told me not to bother showing up next time," she explained sadly.

"Your friends abandoned you."

"No, I abandoned them first. It was my own fault too. I got so focused and caught up on being a ninja that I neglected my friends. So, when my mom told me we'd be moving, I was honestly thrilled. A new town, maybe some new friends? A fresh start!"

"Why not just tell your friends? Weinerman only almost exposed Red's identity once," he mentioned.

"The Codex told me not to and I-I didn't think it was a good idea. I've seen all the superhero movies where the guy tells his girlfriend who he is and the bad guys go after her to hurt him. I was trying to protect them and beyond that, I guess part of me just really didn't want them to know," she admitted.

"Well, at least I know you can keep a secret."

"What, so that was a test?" she asked.

"In a manner of speaking. I just wanted to make sure you don't go blabbing off to Red," Cyrus said, cleaning up his lunch tray and standing up. "Speaking of which, don't go blabbing off to Red," he reminded.

When he was gone, Randy came over. "Piper! Where've you been? I haven't seen you all week!" he exclaimed.

"Oh! Yeah sorry about that. Just still getting settled in with the move and all!" Piper laughed nervously.

"You need any help?" Randy asked.

"No, my mom and I are nearly done putting everything in place. But thanks for asking!"

The pair heard Howard clear his throat roughly. "Uh, excuse me for a second Piper, Howard is not so subtly signalling to me that he wants to talk. What is it, Howard?"

"Why are you still hanging out with the new girl?" he asked.

"Well because she's nice and honestly Howard, I don't think it would be so bad if we brought a girl into the group."

"What? That's crazy. Do you hear yourself Cunningham? Bringing a girl to the group. But, I'm willing to forgive this faux pas with some curly fries. Let's go and get me some," Howard said, leaving towards the lunchline.

"I'm serious Howard! No offence buddy, but you can be kinda immature and I think, just hear me out, having a girl in the group might help give us a better school image than, you know, you scarfing down curly fries and gravy like a monster," Randy said, trying to phrase his words as delicately as he could.

"Oh please, if anyone's the reason we're unpopular, it's you!" Howard said, pointing accusingly at Randy.

"Me? How can I be the most uncool out of the two of us! I'm the Ninja!" Randy exclaimed back, but just remembering to whisper that last part.

"Yeah, but no one knows you're the Ninja, Cunningham. Face it, whereas the Ninja is the brucest cheese around, Randy Cunningham's just a schoob! And no chick is gonna change that. Trust me, my sister's the most popular girl in the whole school and you don't see any of that rubbing off on me!"

"Come on Howard, Piper's a nice girl and I think you'd like her if you got to know her! Ok look, remember that time you had an 'accident' and were hiding in the janitor's closet? You made me bike all the way to your house and bring you a complete change of clothes. I asked you what the juice was up and you didn't say a thing. But, you did say that you owed me one!"

"Oh please Cunningham, are you honestly going to cash that in for her?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"Ugh, fine Cunningham! But if she schoobs anything up, I'm blaming you! There's just something strange about that new girl…"

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**Didn't feel like doing another fighting focused Randy so I thought I'd take this opportunity to expand not only on Piper, but Cyrus as a character.**

**Next chapter? Not sure really. Suggestions for chapter ideas are not only welcome, but greatly encouraged!**


	4. Ryujin Ocean Wave

**Well, now that my midterm has passed, I finally have some time! I'll admit, it took a while to think up what to write about in this chapter, but I finally thought of something. And I think you'll enjoy it, if I do say so myself ;)**

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Saturday morning, Piper awoke to the sound of someone pounding loudly on her front door. She sleepily groaned as she slowly pushed herself up and literally rolled out of bed. She lazily marched down the stairs and opened the door to find Cyrus on the other side. "C-Cyrus? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Get dressed and come with me, Quinn," he said pushing past her inside.

"Uh, sure. Come on in. Cyrus, it's eight thirty on a Saturday morning. I should be asleep for at least two more hours," she yawned.

"Well, you're not going to get to sleep in today. Come on, we're training. Now get dressed and meet me outside," Cyrus said, shutting the front door behind him. Piper groaned loudly and made her way back up the stairs. "Do not go back to sleep!" she heard Cyrus yell from outside. Once she was fully dressed, she wheeled her bike outside while Cyrus leaned against her fence with his own bike. "Follow me," he said, climbing onto his bike and riding down the street. Piper mounted her own bike and rode after him. They rode for about ten minutes until they reached the wilderness at the edge of town.

"So, we're training all the way out here?" she asked.

"It's the best spot in town. Not many people come through here," Cyrus replied.

"And why exactly do we need to train?"

"Because you've never fought any stanked monsters or McFist's robots. So, let's start with some of the basics. What did the Codex teach you so far?" Cyrus asked, putting on his mask.

"Well," Piper started, donning her mask as well, "I know a lot of the basic combat techniques: Air Fist, Earth Attack, Fire Claw, Hydro Hand. You know, the standard stuff."

"Art of disguise?" Cyrus asked.

"Yup," Piper replied.

"Escape?"

"Yup."

"Concealment?"

"Donzo."

"What about your signature move?"

"My what now?"

"You don't know your signature move?" Cyrus asked.

"I, uh, didn't know we had signature moves."

"Uh, ok, it's called Ninja Rage. Your suit flips colours and you have access to the raw elemental powers of the spirit your suit is linked with," he explained.

"Oh, ok yeah I remember my Codex saying something like that. I think my spirit is the Ryujin!"

"The dragon of the ocean," Cyrus said. "Randy's is the Tengu and his signature move is the Tengu Fireball."

"What about yours?" Piper asked.

"Mine? The Raiju, the beast of thunder." Cyrus turned away and took a deep breath. Suddenly, the clouds above them darkened as a bolt of lightning shot down. Piper quickly held her arms up to shield her eyes from the brightness of the bolt. Just as it reached Cyrus, his suit flipped colours, black turning to green while green turned to black. His skin turned black like the suit while his hair turned green, but his eyes remained white. As the suit changed, electric energy from the lightning bolt collected within Cyrus' body, sparks coming off him in bursts. With a roar, Cyrus thrust his arms forward, firing a large, bright green lightning bolt to a fallen tree ahead. When Piper opened her eyes, she saw the trunk of the fallen tree had been split and charred black where the lightning bolt struck it and Cyrus' ninja suit returned to normal.

"Whoa…" Piper gasped with her eyes wide and jaw dropped. "Ok, how do I do that?"

"It's not something meant to be used all the time. Sort of like a final attack. You have to draw on all your emotions and power deep within so you can connect with the spirit bound to the ninja suit. You have to connect with the Ryujin," he explained.

"And how do I do that? I've never… connected with a spirit before! How did you do it with the Raiju?" Piper asked.

"Well, it was sorta instant with me. I've always preferred being by myself and I guess the Raiju felt the same. We just kinda hit it off right from the start. Look, don't worry if you can't connect with the Ryujin right away. It'll take some time for you two to get in sync with each other. Until then, show me what you can do," Cyrus said, drawing a sword. Piper drew her sword as well and dashed up to Cyrus, ready to strike. But for every swing of the sword she made, Cyrus easily blocked it with his own blade. He bent down and swept Piper's legs out with his own, causing her to fall back. Cyrus raised his sword to strike down at her, but she rolled out of the way just in time to avoid his blade. Cyrus reached behind him and threw four ninja rings at her. She deflected two of them with her sword and ducked to avoid the other two. She regained her stance but she was too late to notice Cyrus rushing up to her and disarming her. Her katana flew high up into the air and landed several feet away from them. "Now, what did you do wrong?" he asked, stepping away from her.

"Well I thought you'd go easy on me!" she protested.

"Exactly! Never presume that your opponent will go easy on you just because you're a kid… or a girl. The Sorcerer and McFist aren't going to play fair or nice. Their aim is to get rid of us so the Sorcerer can rule the world. You have to treat every battle like it's a fight for not only your life, but everyone else's as well. Now, let's go again," he said, handing her her blade.

They spent the rest of the morning sparring and each time Cyrus either disarmed or subdued Piper. By the end of it, she was exhausted and collapsed against a tree.

"You've got the basic skills, I'll give you that. But until I think you're ready, we're doing this three times a week," Cyrus declared.

"Who made you the boss? I thought we were supposed to be partners!" she complained.

"Out of the two of us, which of us have actually taken down McFist's robots?" Piper said nothing. "That's what I thought. Until then, don't get into any fights. If Red needs saving, leave it to me."

"Oh shoot! I forgot! Randy invited me to hang out with him and Howard at the Game Hole this afternoon!" Piper cried, pulling off her mask and running over to her bike.

"Hey, we're not done here!" Cyrus called after her.

"I'm sorry I'll make it up to you next time I promise bye!" Piper rambled all at once as she rode away. Piper skidded to a stop in front of the Game Hole arcade Randy had told her about. It took her a little longer to find it, still being relatively new to Norrisville, but Piper always had a good sense of direction… and the maps app on her phone was a big help too. She chained her bike to one of the bike racks on the sidewalk before pushing open the door to the arcade. It was bright, noisy and full of other kids, some her age or younger, which was exactly what she expected out of an arcade, especially one which was supposedly the "Brucest arcade in Norrisville", according to Randy. After scanning the arcade and walking through for a minute, she finally caught sight of Randy and Howard, both of whom were ever so focused on a racing game.

"Hey guys!" she greeted, walking over to them, poking her head between the two driver seats.

"Hey, Piper! Glad you could make it!" Randy said.

"Speak for yourself," muttered Howard. "Hey! You cut me off!"

"You gotta stay focused Howard if you wanna win Howard!" Randy teased. "YES! I win! Who's the man? I'm the man! Cunningham's the man!" Randy jumped out of the seat and began dancing around.

"It's not fair! I demand a do-over! I got distracted by New Girl here!"

"Sorry about that Howard. I didn't mean to distract you," Piper apologized.

"Yeah well a 'sorry' isn't going to make me leaderboard champion on Speed King 3!"

"I had a feeling you might say something like that. Look Howard, I know you and I haven't exactly gotten off on the right foot, but I think I know how I can change that."

"Yeah, how?" Howard asked, his interest slightly intrigued.

Piper reached into her bag and pulled out a plastic container filled with brownies and handed them to Howard. "Here! I made you some brownies!"

"So your plan is to bribe me with brownies?" Howard asked.

"…Yes?"

"Hm… good move, Quinn," Howard complimented, taking the container, "But we'll see how they taste first!" When Randy reached over to take one, Howard slapped his hand away. "Hey! She said these brownies were for me!"

"Oh come on, Howard, don't be such a schoob!" Randy whined.

"Don't worry Randy, I made you some too," Piper smiled, pulling a second plastic container out of her bag and handing it to Randy.

"Sweet!" Randy exclaimed in glee, cheerfully taking the container and prying it open before digging into the delicious sweets within. While the two boys dug into the brownies, Piper sat patiently waiting to hear what they thought of her baking.

"Ah…" Howard sighed contently as he burped loudly and rubbed his belly.

"So…?" Piper asked.

"All right, Quinn, maybe you're not so bad," Howard admitted.

"That's Howard speak for 'I like you', I mean that he likes you-Howard, not me. Not that I don't like you, I mean I do! But not in like, uh, you know…" Randy rambled on.

Piper giggled to herself before changing the subject to help Randy save face. "So, what are some of the really good games here? It's been a while since I went to an arcade."

"Really? Why so long?" Randy asked.

"Well, my big brother used to take me to arcades after school. Mom worked late a lot so he usually took care of me. But he moved out when he went to college; he even got a job with some video game company as a programmer. He sends me some of their games to beta test! …What?" Piper asked, confused at the wide-eyed, jaw-dropped looks on their faces.

"You mean to tell me that you get video games before they come out?" Howard exclaimed.

"Yeah…"

"Cunningham, I take everything bad I said about this back. Now, Quinn, I think this would be an excellent opportunity to revisit the current status of our pending friendship," he said to her eloquently.

"Haha, right. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the brownies and video games," Piper joked. "Hang on, let me just go get my bike." As she crouched next to her bike to undo the lock, she suddenly heard people screaming in the distance. One block away, she saw a large robotic tyrannosaurus rex rampaging through the streets towards her. It nudged a parked car with its snout, flinging it into the air right towards her. Before she could even think to move, she felt something wrap around her tightly and whisk her away and before she knew it, she was on the roof of the arcade.

"Whoa, that was a close one. You ok?" Piper looked up and saw none other than the Red Ninja before in front of her.

"…Randy," she whispered, although not too quietly since the Ninja heard what she said.

"Uh, haha, what? Who's Randy?" he asked. But Piper could tell from the tone of his voice that he was pretending far too hard that he didn't know what she was talking about.

Instantly, Piper remembered Cyrus' warnings to her: not to expose her identity to the Red Ninja or let him know that she knew who he was. "I-I mean, my friend Randy! I lost track of him before that robot showed up," she quickly added.

"Oh, uh, Randy… Randy. Purple hair? Red shirt? Oh, I think I saved him from the robot just before you. Don't worry, he's fine!" the Ninja insisted. "Now stay here where it's safe while I take care of that robot!" Before Piper could say another word, the Ninja jumped off the roof and swung towards the robot with his scarf. Piper ran up to the edge of the roof so she could see the fight. For the most part, Randy was doing quiet well: expertly dodging the robot T-rex's attack before attacking with his sword. Just as Randy moved in for the finishing move, the T-rex suddenly lit up in flames before shooting out a stream of fire from its mouth.

"Oh no!" Piper cried on worry, but she sighed in relief when she saw Randy get away at the last second. The only problem now was that Randy couldn't get close, not with all those flames. And from the looks of it, Randy was aware of this too. Without a second thought, Piper put on his ninja mask. Just as she stepped onto the edge of the roof, she stopped herself. "Right… I can't interfere, not unless his life depends on it! Darn it! But he needs help! Ok, think Piper… How can I help Randy without knowing he helped me? Maybe if I can connect with the spirit in my ninja suit, the Ryujin! Cyrus said it was an ocean spirit, so…" Piper began looking around, but they weren't even close to any water. The lake was all the way on the other side of town! When she turned around, Piper smiled at the sight of the water tower on the roof with her. "Ok, Piper, focus. You can do this. Just… concentrate! Yeah, concentrate!" She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Ok, Ryujin, I know you're there somewhere so you must be able to hear me. Right now, someone needs my help! Please… let me know you're there!" she pleaded. Piper snapped her eyes open when she could have sworn she heard a faint dragon roar in the distance. When she looked down at her hands, she suddenly saw her ninja suit changing color. Black became purple while purple became black and she could feel incredible powers coursing through her body. She struggled to adjust to this new feeling and contain this power, keep it from spilling out of her like she felt it was going to. Returning her focus to the water tower, she held out her arms, pulling the water out of the tower. Holding the water above her, she charged it with the Ryujin's power before sending the water right onto the T-rex. Instantly, the flames were doused and the robot began to short circuit and twitch uncontrollably. Randy, seeing this as his chance, ran up to the robot and sliced its head clean off. Piper smiled as her suit returned to normal. She took off her mask, stuffed it back into her bag before making her way back down to street level through the roof access stairs.

"Randy! Howard! Are you guys ok?" Piper asked. By the time she got back to the street outside, Randy was already back in his street clothes while Howard seemed generally unamused and unfazed by the ordeal.

"Yeah, we're fine," Howard replied.

"What happened to you?" Randy asked.

_'As if he doesn't know,'_ Piper laughed mentally, but she figured it was best to play along. "Oh, the ninja saved me! I gotta say, he's really something! I wish there was some way that I could thank him though!"

"Oh, I'm sure the ninja knows," Randy chuckled. "Ow!" he cried when Howard elbowed him in the ribs.

"Right…" Piper smiled. "Hey, you guys mind if we get something to eat? I haven't had lunch yet. I know you guys already ate, but-"

"Nah, it's cool. Let's get something to eat!" Howard exclaimed.

"But you guys both scarfed down those brownies I made you," Piper mentioned.

"And your point is?" Howard asked.

"Um, ok nevermind. Let's get something to eat!" Randy and Howard started walking off, but Piper stopped when she heard someone clear there throat behind her. She turned around and saw Cyrus standing there with his arms crossed and a disgruntled look on his face. "Oh, Cyrus! Heeeeeeey," she said nervously.

"I thought I made myself clear," he said.

"Well, in my defence, it's not like I had your number or any way to contact you. Oh oh! And-and I connected with the Ryujin! Found my signature move, which I think should totally let me off the hook for whatever you're mad at me for, hehe, right?"

Cyrus sighed in annoyance before reaching his hand into Piper's bag and pulling out her phone. He punched in his number before handing it back to her. "Call me the minute Red gets into trouble, got it?"

"Ok," Piper nodded. As Cyrus turned to leave, Piper ran off to catch up with Randy and Howard.

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**Hope you guys enjoyed that. Like I said before, chapter suggestions are very welcome. I know I'll eventually get to Randy finding out about the other ninjas, but being 4 chapters in, I just don't think we're ready to get there yet... So, in the mean time, I'll need some stuff to fill in the places. **


	5. Two Ships

**Ok, I was on a bit of a writing block with this story, but an idea came to me as I settled into bed to sleep and I'm am getting back into writing! Exams are done after all!**

**Now, I know many of you have suggested/asked me to bring in the other ninjas. I want to and it will happen at some point, but not yet. The reason why is because the story for the most part is intended to focus on Cyrus, Piper and Randy. Bringing in the rest of the Norisu Nine would make the cast too heavy. Think about it, it'd be a lot of characters to write for, flesh out and give each of them their own unique personalities. It would just get really cluttered and heavy. So, it's just going to be Cy, Piper and Randy for a while. Sorry guys.**

**But ideas and suggestions are still more than welcome!**

**Also, I want to make it clear that I have no intention of spending creative energy on coming up with the latest McFist stuff. You know how in almost every episode is usually starts with a showcase of McFist's latest product or whatever? Yeah, well I really don't care about coming up with my own McFist ideas. My concern for the story is Piper, Cyrus and Randy. So either McFist ideas will just be super simple, or I'll reuse something from the show. *shrug***

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Swords clashed again and again as the sharp _clang_ echoed through the trees. Cyrus raised his arms, preparing to swing his katana once more, but Piper easily blocked the attack with her ninjato. With a secure footing, she pushed against Cyrus' katana, shoving his weight off hers before delivering a sharp kick in his stomach. He grunted in response, quickly grabbing his stomach as he slid back from the force of Piper's kick. Stabbing the katana into the ground, he stood up and coughed, "Not bad."

"Why Cyrus, is that a compliment? From you? Why I am flattered!" Piper exclaimed playfully.

"Don't get too excited, Quinn," he remarked sternly.

"Right right, heaven forbid the loner Silent Cyrus give a compliment… or even crack a smile? Eh? Eh?" she asked, playfully poking his cheek before he swatted her hand away like it were a pesky fly. "Oh come on, you don't have to be so stingy! Look, we've been training for hours! Let's go do something fun for a change! Hang back and just take a break!"

"A break?" he asked, almost not believing that she was suggesting what she was suggesting.

"What, you never heard of 'em? It's this crazy thing where people who work too much, Cyrus," she said, masking his name beneath a forced cough, "take a pause from their work to refresh and revitalize!"

"I don't take breaks," he muttered, crossing his arms.

"Heh, yeah I noticed. Which is why you really need one now. Come on, Cy, don't you have any hobbies outside of being the Green Ninja?" When Cyrus didn't respond, Piper exclaimed loudly, "Are you kidding me, Cyrus? You don't have any other hobbies or interests outside of being a ninja?"

"I don't have time for hobbies," he argued.

"Actually you do! In the rare - and I use this term loosely - moments of peace and quiet between attacks, you have time to spend doing whatever you want! There's more to life than being a ninja, Cyrus!" she exclaimed, removing her mask as Cyrus did the same, returning them to their civilian clothes.

"Like what?" he asked, slightly intrigued.

"Like, friends! Please don't tell me I'm the only friend you have!"

"We're not friends," he said plainly.

Piper was nearly taken aback by his statement and simply muttered, "Oh… I didn't realize that you saw it that way… Thanks for making that clear!" Cyrus didn't say anything as Piper grabbed her bag and rode away back to town on her bike. He knew Piper took his words the wrong way…or, well, he meant what he said. He wasn't entirely sure what set her off. It was the truth! He honestly didn't view her as his friend, but then again he didn't view anyone as a friend. Maybe that's what Piper was talking about. He knew he had a problem with sensitivity, or rather, lack thereof. He couldn't blame Piper for getting mad at what he said. If he was her, he'd probably be upset to. But he wasn't her and he certainly wasn't the sensitive type. He just shrugged his shoulders and went off on his own way. Piper would just have to get used to the way he said things.

"Stupid Cyrus," Piper muttered, leisurely biking down the streets of Norrisville. Where did he get off talking to her like that? All this time, he's been talking about how they're supposed to be partners and then he just comes out and says that they're not friends! And to think she was actually making progress with getting him to open up a bit more. She thought he'd at least indulge her in relaxing after agreeing to all the training sessions he wanted to have at the most absurd times.

She suddenly recognized Randy and Howard's bikes parked at a bike lock outside of one of many of McFist's pizza joints. She locked her bike next to theirs and went inside. Once she spotted the pair, she sat down with them. "Hey guys," she greeted.

"Oh, hey Piper! You heard about the new pizza McPizza Palace was coming out with today too, huh?" Randy asked.

"Actually no. I saw your guys' bikes outside and thought I'd join you."

"Great! Just don't think this means you can mooch off our pizza!" Howard warned.

"Haha, wouldn't think of it," Piper insisted. "So what are you guys up to today?"

"Well, Howard and I were gonna hit the new McFist Mega Sports Arena. You wanna come?" Randy asked.

"That sounds cool! What's the Mega Sports Arena?" she asked.

"It's this totally Bruce indoor sports complex that McFist made. It's got everything! Anyone who's anyone is going to be there today for the grand opening!" Howard exclaimed, promptly digging into the massive pizza as the waiter arrived with it.

"Sounds cool! I've love to come with you guys," she smiled.

"Sweet! So, quick question, how come you've been hanging out with Cyrus Webb so much lately?" Randy asked.

"Oh…" Piper stalled, trying to find a convenient excuse. She didn't think Randy would notice that when she wasn't with them, she was with Cyrus so she hadn't exactly prepared any form of explanation. "I'm, uh, helping him with his homework! Yeah, that's it!" she laughed nervously, hoping they'd believe it.

"So what's Webb's deal? Like, does he say anything… ever?" Howard asked.

"Yeah, doesn't he come off a bit strange to you?" Randy asked next.

"Well, he's definitely not like you guys. I mean, he's just different. I think he certainly has a problem with talking to people, though. But I don't wanna talk about Cyrus," she said, pushing thoughts of him out of her mind. "Let's go to the Sports Arena opening!" Once Howard and Randy were done with their pizza, the three of them went outside, got on their bikes and rode over to the Sports Arena. It wasn't hard to spot, especially with the huge crowd of people flooding into the arena.

"Wow, looks like everyone in town is here," Piper exclaimed as they got off their bikes.

"Man, how are we supposed to get in?" Howard whined.

"Don't worry Howard, I have a plan," Randy assured him. Nearly an hour later, they finally got inside the Sports Arena.

"Your plan was to sit and wait in line for over an hour?" Howard shouted.

"Hey, I said I'd get us in, didn't I?"

"Ugh, come on Cunningham, why didn't you just, you know, ninja out," Howard whispered.

"Howard! You know I can't ninja out when Piper's with us!" Randy whispered back.

"Did you guys say my name?" Piper asked, coming up to the pair.

"Huh, what? Uh, yeah! I was just wondering if you wanted to check out the soccer field!"

"Sure, that sounds like fun!" she chirped. The trio spent the next few hours playing against their classmates in some of the games before jumping to the next court. Unbeknownst to them, however, McFist in Viceroy loomed over the arena in a private room with a wide glass window to see below.

"Gehehe," McFist giggled excitedly, "Everything's going according to my plan!"

"You mean my plan," Viceroy interrupted, only to be brushed off by McFist, who continued his self-centred monologue as if he didn't even hear Viceroy speak.

"I told you the whole town would be here for the opening of my Mega Sports Arena! Every sport known to man each with their own customizable field!" McFist squealed in delight. "And the best part is, all the machines at each station double as Ninja capturing robots! You can say it Viceroy, I'm a genius!"

Viceroy sighed in defeat, "You're a genius."

"I knew it!" he squealed gleefully. "Now that the whole town is here, all we have to do is have my robots cause a little mayhem and draw the Ninja out! Then I'll finally unmask him!" McFist dashed over to the control panel in their office, grinning widely as he hovered over it. "Uh… Uuuuhhh…" he muttered, hovering his fingers over the panel that was completely covered with buttons. "So, uh, which one does the thing, Viceroy?"

Viceroy rolled his eyes and walked up to the panel, pushing McFist aside as he pressed one of the buttons. The two of them returned to the window to see all the machines in the Sports Arena suddenly coming to life and wreaking havoc, causing patrons to run in fear, screaming for their lives.

Back down in the arena, Randy and Howard watched as robots ran rampant across the entire space. The baseball launcher had turned into a walking tank, shooting baseballs while the badminton net transformed in a robot swinging the very same net that was set up on the badminton field like a bolas. And those were just the big ones. "Uh, looks like you're on Cunningham," Howard pointed out, casually sipping his drink.

"I know Howard, but," Randy stopped, looking over to Piper, who was still with them. "You gotta get Piper outta here, dude! She can't see me change into the Ninja!" he whispered.

"All right, all right, I'll get rid of her. Once again, I do all the hard work!" Howard complained. "Come on, Quinn, let's get out of here!" Howard cried, grabbing her wrist and pulling her along before she could protest. As Howard pulled her along, Piper shot a glance back to Randy behind them just in time to see him duck behind a garbage bin. A bright orange glow emitted quickly before fading as the Ninja suddenly appeared.

"Wait, but what about Randy?" Piper asked. She knew all too well where Randy was and what he was doing, but she didn't want Howard to get suspicious as to why she wasn't concerned about him. After all, Howard didn't know that she knew Randy was the Red Ninja.

"Right, uh, you wait here! I'll get Cunningham!" Howard quickly came up with an excuse as he disappeared into the chaos. With everything going on around her - the robots fighting, debris flying and people running for their lives - Piper was too distracted to think clearly. But then, she spotted a little boy still out in the middle of the basketball court calling out for his mother. When she noticed one of the robots advancing towards the boy, Piper ran up to the child, scooped him up in her arms and ran towards the entrance. She set the child down and bent down to speak to him and cried, "Get outside somewhere safe! Be sure to find your parents! Got it?" The boy nodded quickly as he ran out the arena entrance. As she watched the boy as he ran to make sure he got it out safely, she failed to notice the same robot creeping up behind her. She turned around in time to see it raise its giant, metal fist above her but before it could bring it down and crush her, the Ninja swooped down with his scarf and swiftly grabbed her. Randy swung up and landed on one of the upper viewing balconies and carefully set Piper down. "Wow, Ninja! That's the second time you've saved me!" Piper honestly didn't know what else to say except that but she quickly cut her nervous laughter. She didn't want to give away that something was wrong.

"Hm? Oh, oh yeah I remember you! Yeah, I save people like all the time so it's kinda hard to keep track of all the people I'm save because I'm so busy… saving people. You know, normal Ninja stuff," he said casually.

"Right, well I think you might wanna finish down there before you show off to your fans," Piper said, peeking over the balcony edge to the destruction below.

"Good call! Stay here where it's safe!" he said, jumping over the balcony and back down to the fight.

"Smooth." Piper turned around sharply when she heard a voice behind her only to see Cyrus leaning against the wall casually.

"Cyrus? Uh, how much of that did you see?" she asked nervously.

"All of it. But at least you're playing the damsel in distress well. You can't let Red know that you know who he is beneath the mask," Cyrus commented, walking up to the balcony and standing next to Piper.

"How did you know to come here? I haven't even texted you yet," Piper exclaimed, pulling out her phone.

"Oh I always keep close tabs on Red. For every instance where he's found trouble, trouble's ended finding him three times over." For about a minute, they watched as Randy fought the robots, but the tide quickly changed when the net-wielding robot launched its net at Randy. Randy desperately struggled against the net, but couldn't move or reach any of his weapons.

"Uh oh, that's not good," Piper noticed. Cyrus narrowed his eyes as another robot advanced on the trapped Randy, lowering its robot hand to remove Randy's mask. "Shouldn't we help him?"

"Yup! Let's go!" Cyrus cried, pulling on his mask and leaping over the balcony as Piper did the same.

Just as the robot reached down to pull off Randy's mask, a sword drove right into the robot's forehead. "What the juice?" Randy exclaimed. Wielding the sword as a boy wearing a ninja suit that looked just like his own, except with green lightning bolt markings. And instead of a mask covering his entire head, it only covered his eyes. The Green Ninja flipped over, bringing the sword with him as he sliced through the robot's back and landed flawlessly on the ground. The robot split in two as each half fell to the side and Cyrus stood there, resting the katana on his shoulder. Randy turned his head to the robot that bound him to see a similar dressed ninja, this one with purple markings and bright orange hair tied in a ponytail, with a mask covering her lower face. With two ninjato, she sliced off the robots arms as well as quickly cutting through the net that bound Randy. Before Randy could say another word, the two ninjas exchanged looks and nodded before dropping two smoke bombs and disappearing. "Ok, seriously, what the juice?" Randy quickly disappeared with his own smoke bomb before meeting back up with Howard outside the Sports Arena. "Howard, did you see that?"

"Oh yeah, cool robot fight, good job, Cunningham," Howard muttered absentmindedly.

"No, Howard I'm talking about the other ninjas!"

"Other ninjas? Oh yeah, they were pretty cool! Definitely cooler than you Cunningham," Howard laughed.

"Howard! Focus! That's not what I mean! There's only supposed to be one ninja! What the juice is going on? Where did these other two ninjas come from?" he cried.

Meanwhile, Piper and Cyrus casually strolled through the town. As they walked, Piper kept her gaze locked on Cyrus. "What?" he asked.

"So," Piper began, "Randy knows now…that he's not the only ninja in Norrisville?"

"That he does, but it was only a matter of time. For now it'll still be just the two of us. When the time comes, the Norisu Nine will reform," he explained before stopping. When Piper noticed him stop moving, she came to a halt as well and turned to face him. "Earlier today, you didn't let me finish."

"Yeah…?" Piper asked.

"We're not friends… we're partners," he said firmly. He continued walking while Piper stayed where she was. She smiled to herself before following after him.

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**Get why I called this chapter Two Ships? Cuz there's the "friendship" and "partnership" as well as the double shipping of PiperxRandy and PiperxCyrus X3 I'm silly**

**Next chapter: Randy tries to uncover the identities of the two new ninjas.**


	6. Vulnerable

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**Sorry if I've been a little scarce with updates lately. Been busy with the holidays and WoW taking up my time. Plus I kinda had a bit of a writer's block. But, I'm slowly working through it. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and have a fantastic new years!**

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"So, uh, what'cha doin' there, Cunningham?" Howard asked, peeking over Randy's shoulder as Randy hunched over his desk, furiously scribblings into his notebook.

"Howard, weren't you paying attention yesterday?"

"Uh… no. When you're used to the whole ninja-shows-up-to-fight-robots-or-monsters, it kinda gets old. What happened yesterday?" Howard asked absentmindedly as he started picking food scraps out from under his nails.

"Howard!" Randy exclaimed as he lightly punched his friend's shoulder to get his attention back. "There's two more ninjas in Norrisville and I've gotta figure out who they are!"

"Oh, who cares? Tonight's the grand opening of the new Kick Puncher movie and everyone's going to be there!"

"Howard, you don't get it. There's only supposed to be one Norrisville Ninja and that's me! I mean, that's me," he whispered. "If these guys showed up out of nowhere, how long have they been here? And are there any more of them? What have they been doing this entire time and why haven't they been helping me?"

"Right… and how exactly do you intend to find these 'other ninjas'?" Howard asked with air quotes.

"Well, I, uh, haven't exactly thought that far ahead. I was kinda hoping an idea would come to me as I went along!"

"Great plan, Cunningham," Howard said sarcastically. "No, really, this could be the greatest plan in the history of plans!"

"I don't appreciate that sarcasm, Howard," Randy muttered. "Now unless you're going to help me..."

"I am not," Howard replied casually as he plopped into his seat and tossed chips into his mouth. "So, what do you have so far?"

"Well, I know one's a girl and the other's a guy. I just have to narrow down people with grey hair and orange hair..."

"What if they we wearing wigs? Remember in the last Kick Puncher movie when Kick Puncher put on a wig so he could hide his identity?" Howard said with a mouth full of chips, spraying crumbs on the surface of his desk as he spoke.

Randy dropped his pencil and stared ahead with wide eyes. "Aw man!" he cried, scribbling over everything he had already written. "It's not fair! Where the heck did these guys even come from? There's only supposed to be one Norrisville Ninja and it's m-I mean, it's the ninja! Uhh! This is driving me crazy!"

"Uh... frustrated with homework?" asked Piper, coming up to the two.

"Nah, Cunningham's trying to figure out who the new ninjas are," Howard explained.

"R-really? W-why would you want to do that?" Piper asked nervously before recomposing herself.

"Uh... because everyone in the school's trying to figure out!" Randy quickly came up with a response. "Yeah! And if I figure out who these new ninjas are before anyone else, then I'll be the Brucest guy in school!" Piper gazed around the classroom and through the door to the hallway. What Randy said was technically true. The entire school was buzzing with news of these 'new ninjas' and everyone was just going crazy! She figured this would be the reaction since for so long, everyone thought there was only one ninja. She caught a glimpse of Cyrus in the hallway as he nudged his head, indicating her to come with him. "I'll be right back guys. Bathroom," she said as she stepped out of the room and met up with Cyrus at his locker. "Well, it looks like we made a memorable entrance yesterday." Cyrus simply stared at her blankly as he opened his locker door. "Sorry, just trying to diffuse the tension. So what happens now?"

"Well, Red knows he's not the only ninja now and McFist knows it too. It's only a matter of time before the Sorcerer figures out the Norisu Nine are back," he explained.

"What about Randy? I mean, now that he knows we exist, shouldn't we tell him who we are?" she asked.

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I know what kind of person Red is. He's going to lash out and throw a temper tantrum. Not to mention when he finds out that you, one of his friends, is one too, he won't exactly take the news lightly." Piper cast her eyes down sadly. Cyrus had a point. If she were in Randy's shoes, she'd be furious that one of her friends was secretly a ninja and didn't tell her. "We'll tell him, when he's ready," Cyrus said, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I hope that's soon. I don't like keeping him in the dark."

* * *

Deep in his underground prison, the Sorcerer caught a sudden whiff that drew his attention. "Ah... what's this? Frustration, anger," he noted, sniffing the air, "with a hint of... oooh, jealousy! A wonderfully exotic concoction. Let's have some fun, hm?" the Sorcerer grinned widely to his rat companion as he sprayed a thick, green mist into the pipers hanging over him. The mist flew through the vents of the school, searching for their target before seeping into one of the classrooms from the ceiling over an unsuspecting Randy. Howard was paying no attention, instead licking his fingers from finishing the chips and failed to notice the stank infest Randy. As the stank consumed him, Randy morphed into a large blue monster with bright and unfocused yellow eyes. His forearms grew large and thick while his legs became bent, like a dog's. A long, thin tail sprouted from his rear while a row of razor sharp teeth lined the inside of his mouth. Randy's jacket was still on him, but ripped at the end while his dark purple hair became wild and messy with frayed ends.

Howard finally looked over when he heard desks and chairs being knocked over. Once he caught sight of the stanked monster, he shrieked loudly as he scrambled to hide under his desk. Stanked Randy roared loudly before breaking through the wall into the school hallway. Students screamed and ran in terror as Randy went on a rampage.

"Oh, that's not good," Howard muttered, crawling out from under his desk. "Cunningham's stanked, which means the Ninja can't show up to destank him. How is Cunningham gonna destank himself?!" Howard shouted.

As Randy ran wild through the school, Cyrus and Piper noticed the panicked screaming before catching a glimpse of him coming down the hallway right towards them. With quick thinking and reflexes, Cyrus pulled Piper with him into a small alcove where one of the water fountains was located. He pressed Piper into the wall with his own body and raised his arm to protect their heads just as Randy drove his clawed hand into the wall of lockers and tore several of them out of place, causing metal doors and debris to go flying. Once Randy had moved on, Cyrus pulled away from Piper and the two emerged from the alcove.

"What the heck was that thing?"

"That was Red," Cyrus answered.

"Randy? What the heck happened?"

"It's one of the Sorcerer's abilities. He can turn people into monsters like that."

"Well, I hate to say it, but-oh, who am I kidding, I told you so!" Piper yelled into Cyrus ear. "I've been saying this entire time that we should tell him and the day after we show ourselves, whatever that is happens!"

"Fine, fine! You were right! Cyrus Webb made a bad call! Does that make you happy?" Cyrus angrily admitted.

"Of course it doesn't make me happy! One of my friends is giant rampaging monster! How are we supposed to change him back?"

"Usually, when someone gets stanked, it's because they've let negative emotions overwhelm them. The Sorcerer picks up on those negative emotions, he can infect you with his magic and turn you into-"

"A mindless rampaging monster," Piper finished.

"Exactly."

"So how do we reverse it?"

"We destroy the thing he cares about most. Most often, at least around here, the stank will focus in on the object that person's negative emotions are focused on. Say if a student failed an assignment, that assignment would need to be destroyed in order to return them to normal."

"Great, so what do we destroy to change Randy back?"

"Well, they don't always revolve around an object," he pointed out.

"Oh, wonderful!" Piper exclaimed sarcastically. "So where does that leave us?"

"We'll have to improvise. Until we can figure out how to change Red back, we need to contain him, minimize damage."

"Maybe we should lead him to the woods. It's out of the way and no one will get hurt," she suggested.

"Good idea. Let's go."

* * *

**We kinda knew right away that we wanted Randy to be stanked. They never did it in the show (yet, hopefully) and I thought it would be a neat aspect to explore. Plus, anger and jealousy are some of those negative emotions the Sorcerer can take advantage of. **

**Next chapter: Piper tries to calm a stanked Randy down while Cyrus searches for a way to return him to normal.**


	7. Revelation

**Had this chapter ready since the last update when I just got hit by a storm of writing mood. But, since I'm not one to upload chapters too frequently (I like to wait at least a week between each update) I decided to hold off a bit. **

* * *

Most of the students and teachers were already evacuated as Randy ran amok through the school, destroying everything in his path. He mercilessly stalked up to some students cowering in fear in the corner before Cyrus and Piper, dressed in their ninja uniforms appeared in a cloud of green and purple smoke behind him.

Before they engaged him, Piper lightly grabbed his arm to stop Cyrus from advancing. "Try not to hurt him," she pleaded.

"Something tells me he's not going to give me the same courtesy," Cyrus replied. "But I'll try. Hey!" he shouted, getting Randy's attention. "You want us, come and get us!" The two ninjas quickly dashed down the hallway and out one of the windows with a stanked Randy in tow. "Lead him to the woods. I'll meet you there!"

"Wait, what?" Piper cried, but before she could get her answer, Cyrus was already gone. "Aw man! Some partner he is!" she cried, making her way towards the woods with Randy on her heels. When she made it to a clearing surrounded by tall trees, she saw no sign of Cyrus. "Come on, Cyrus, where are you?" she muttered to herself, frantically scanning the trees for any sign of him. Suddenly, Randy burst through one of the trees, completely knocking it over. "Ok, ok, destank... how do I destank you, Randy?" Piper asked herself, as if hoping some answer would suddenly appear in her time of need. She recalled what Cyrus told her about stank, that it was part of the Sorcerer's power that targeted vulnerable people when they were overcome with negative emotions.

Negative emotions. Well, if she was Randy, Piper would imagine he was feeling very angry right now, maybe even jealous or bitter. He had to be angry about finding out about the other ninjas. And she couldn't blame him. All this time, he thought he was on his own in this fight and to find out that he had teammates that were hiding from him wouldn't make her happy either. So if the cause of Randy's stank was his anger towards her and Cyrus, then there was only one thing she could think of doing.

"Ok, Randy, just listen to the sound of my voice. I need you to calm down," she said in a calm tone, hoping it would transfer over to him. Instead, Randy roared loudly and charged directly at her. She easily evaded him by jumping up and over him as he crashed into a tree behind her. "Randy! Snap out of it! This isn't you!" she pleaded, but it was no use. Randy stalked up to her again, but she didn't nothing and stayed still. Normally, if she were fighting something else, she'd whip out her ninjato and fight back. But she didn't want to hurt Randy and she wasn't sure about the retention of injuries when one was stanked. She flinched when Randy put his face put his face right in front of hers and froze, sniffing her loudly.

"R-Randy?" she asked, hopeful that she had gotten through to him. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Randy's eyes suddenly narrowed and he swiftly struck Piper to the side with the back of his thick forearm. She rolled to a stop on the ground before slowly pushing herself up. As she lay on her stomach, propped up on her elbows, she noticed that Randy was gone. "Dammit, he must have run off."

All of a sudden, Piper felt something wrap tightly around her neck and lift her into the air. Randy, who clung to the tree behind her, held her up by her neck with his tail. Piper instantly reached for her the tail that constricted around her, desperately trying to pull the tail off her so she could breath. "R-Randy," she whispered, her lungs desperately crying out for air, "please..." With the last of her energy, she reached up to the mask around her face and pulled it down to her neck, dematerializing her ninja suit and causing her hair to fall out of the ponytail it was bound up in. "It's…me…" she whispered weakly. She could have sworn that she saw shock in the stanked Randy's eyes, but she didn't feel the tail around her neck slack like she had hoped. She suddenly felt light-headed and her eyes felt very heavy as she slipped into unconsciousness from oxygen deprivation.

Just then, a bolt of green lightning shot out and struck Randy's side, knocking him off the tree and unwrapping his tail from Piper's neck as she fell to the ground limp. Cyrus suddenly appeared, his ninja suit changing back from green with black lines to it's normal black with green lines. He caught a quick sight of his unconscious partner in her civilian clothes before turning his attention back to Randy. As Randy charged towards him, Cyrus pulled out his twin kusarigama, wrapping the chains around each of Randy's arms before burying the scythe blade deep into separate tree trunks, restraining Randy. With the stanked monster held in place, Cyrus strolled up to him, pulling out Randy's ninja mask from behind his back. As he got closer, Randy lunged at him with a mouthful of razorsharp teeth, but Cyrus simply stopped him with one hand on Randy's nose, sending a powerful jolt of electricity through him. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it was enough to subdue him for a while.

Cyrus stepped onto Randy's back and pulled the tiny mask over his giant, stanked head. Suddenly, the mask began glowing bright as green mist flowed out of Randy's body, returning him to normal as the ninja suit materialized around his body. Cyrus continued standing over him as Randy slowly came to.

"Oooh, what happened?" he muttered, rubbing his head as he slowly stood up. "How did I get here?"

"You got stanked," Cyrus answered.

"Me? Stanked? But how?"

"You let your anger and jealous get to you, which made you vulnerable to the Sorcerer's influence. The magic within your ninja mask was able to expel it from you, however."

"Wait, you're that other ninja!" Randy shouted, standing up and pointing an accusatory finger at Cyrus, who simply slapped it away. "Oww..." Randy muttered meekly, rubbing his hand.

"Cool it, Cunningham," Cyrus warned.

"How do you know who I am? I mean, who's this Cunningham you speak of? I've never heard of him!" Randy quickly said.

"Relax, I've known your identity for a long time now. You don't do as good a job as keeping it a secret like you think you do," Cyrus, taking off his own mask.

"Cyrus? Cyrus Webb?" Randy exclaimed in surprise as he took off his mask as well. "You're the other ninja?"

"I see your observation skills are as sharp as ever," Cyrus said as he walked over to the still unconscious Piper.

"Piper?" Randy called out in worry.

"You did a real number on my partner," Cyrus said as he grabbed both of Piper's arms and lifted her onto his back. He bent over with her on his back and hooked his arms under her legs to lift her onto his back better. Piper's arms hung over Cyrus' shoulders in front of him while her head hung over his left shoulder.

"Partner?" Randy cried in shock. "So then she's?"

"Yeah," Cyrus answered, "We're the other two ninjas that saved you. If I were you, I wouldn't let not knowing who the rest are bother you. Even I don't know who they are," he said, walking back to town and leaving a bewildered Randy behind.

* * *

**Honestly, I wasn't sure of how they'd be able to destank him, but I figured that the Ninja mask must have some magical properties that would make Randy immune to stank. Ergo, I figured putting the mask on him might force the stank influence from his body. Does that make sense?**


	8. The Real Training

**Wow, how long has it been? A few months? Longer? Probably. Sorry for the long update, a combination of school, drawing and WoW have been occupying my time greatly, but I'm finding small snippets of time to pump out some writing, especially now that I've exhausted my drawing for a bit.**

**I know many people are still calling for me to bring in the other ninjas of the Norisu Nine, but as I stated many times before, the story focuses on Randy, Cyrus and Piper and bringing in too many characters at once can make the story too heavy. Honestly guys, I'm kinda making this up as I go along. So we'll just have to see where it goes. If I feel the moment is right to bring in the other ninjas, I will. Until then, I hope you still enjoy the story :)**

* * *

Randy had been avoiding Piper for the rest of the week. Any time she came over to sit with him in class or during lunch, he'd immediately sit up and move to another spot without a word. Howard had asked Randy what the problem was between the two of them, but Randy refused to say anything on the matter. To be honest, Piper couldn't blame Randy for being angry with her. Not only did she keep her identity as the Violet Ninja a secret from him, but she knew he was the Red Ninja and didn't tell him that she knew! When it came to lunch time, Piper again sat down at the same table as Randy and Howard, but as he had been doing all week, he simply picked up his tray and moved to another table.

"Uh, you wanna fill me on what's going on between you two?" Howard asked.

"It's complicated," she answered.

"Pfft, it's always complicated," Howard muttered as he kept eating.

Unbeknownst to them, Cyrus watched the entire thing from the cafeteria entrance. After Randy finished putting away his dirty dishes and tray, Cyrus walked over to him. Seizing him by the collar of his jacket, Cyrus pulled a struggling Randy out of the cafeteria and into the empty hallway.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Randy cried, pulling his jacket from Cyrus' grip.

"You need to get over this," Cyrus said with narrow eyes.

"Get over what? The fact that I've had people that could have been helping me this entire time? How many more of there are you, anyway?"

"It's not called the Norisu Nine for nothing," Cyrus muttered.

"So there's six other ninjas? Here?"

"Yes. But I wouldn't get your hopes up on meeting them. Even I don't know their identities."

"So what was I then? A distraction?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you're not essential."

"Well what else is it supposed to mean? I'm out there fighting monsters and robots without any help while the rest of you just use me as a diversion?"

"Every member of a team has a part to play. Just because yours was the red herring, doesn't mean you're unessential."

"Then why keep me in the dark?"

"You wouldn't have been as convincing. Diversions are all the more convincing when the people doing them don't know they're being a diversion," Cyrus reasoned. "You wanna be mad? Fine, be mad, but keep your anger in check. I don't want to repeat what happened a few days ago and I'm pretty sure you don't want that either."

Randy slouched and hung his head, ashamed that he had let himself become vulnerable to the Sorcerer's influence.

"You know why Piper's wearing a scarf now, right?"

"Why?" Randy had noticed she started wearing a scarf. It was light purple and matched her jacket and wrapped tightly around her neck. He had just assumed the weather was a little too cold for her lately.

"To hide the bruises she got when you nearly choked the life out of her."

Randy instantly felt the shame get worse. He couldn't remember anything from when he was stanked and he had dealt with that memory loss in the victims he'd rescued. But he never thought he'd be one of those victims. And to hear that he nearly killed his friend... it just made him feel utterly terrible.

"If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. I was the one who wanted to keep you in the dark." As Cyrus walked away from Randy, he said one last thing. "Oh, and for what it's worth, Piper wanted to tell you from the start. She's a nice kid and she cares a lot about you."

As Cyrus left the hallway, Randy peeked into the cafeteria and looked over to Piper once again. She was sitting all the way on the other side of the cafeteria, clearly an effort to avoid him perhaps because of his anger or her guilt or some combination of the two. Before Randy could think more about it, Howard appeared next to him.

"Geez, what's with you? I haven't seen you this spaced out since the time I saved over your Grave Puncher game," Howard noted.

"Uh, I gotta go into the Nomicon for a bit, Howard. Cover me," Randy said, pulling open the book as the pages drew his mind in while fell limp and slouched against the wall. When he landed in the Nomicon, he wasted no time in shouting out at the book world's sky. "All right, Nomicon, no more secrets! I want to know everything!" he declared loudly. For a moment, none of the Nomicon's pages moved, which Randy would have interpreted as the book's refusal to his request. He was about to open his mouth and speak again but the figures in the book began moving. Materializing before him were nine figures dressed in ninja garb, but each with different accent colors.

"Long ago, the Norisu Nine protected Norrisville from the Sorcerer together until only the Red Ninja remained. But before their demise, the other ninjas passed on their own suits and books of knowledge to successors," Randy narrated as he watched the figures before him act out the story. "But that doesn't explain why I've been fighting all by myself!" he shouted. The figures shifted once again as Randy continued narrating, "But the Red Ninja decided it would be best if the other ninjas kept their existence a secret. If the enemy believed only a single ninja remained, they would be unprepared for the day the Norisu Nine reemerge." As Randy finished narrating the tale, he addressed the book once more. "So why keep me in the dark about this Nomicon?" Words appeared in the sky above Randy as he read them out loud, "Teamwork divides the task and multiplies success. So then why keep me in the dark?" The words shifted around again and Randy read them out loud, "Deception is a ploy best played by an unknowing party. But how does that-AHHHH!" Randy shouted as he was suddenly ejected from the book. "Huh? Wha?" Randy's head shot up from the cafeteria table as he frantically looked around, taking note of the panicked screams of his fellow students.

"Finally, Cunningham! You gotta ninja up! There's a giant robot octopus attacking the school!" Howard shouted.

Without another word, Randy ducked under the table, put on his mask and reemerged as the ninja, ready to face the robot octopus that was wreaking havoc in the cafeteria. "All right robot octopus, I'm gonna slice you up into little pieces of robot sushi!" Randy declared, pulling out his ninja sword. He wasted no time in charging the robot octopus and slicing off the tentacles that shot towards him. But suddenly, two more robot octopi appeared behind him. One grabbed Randy by the ankle with its tentacle and threw him out of the cafeteria. Randy groaned in pain as he landed roughly in the parking lot, narrowly missing Principal Slimovitz's car.

"You look like you could use a hand," Cyrus said, as he and Piper stood over Randy in their ninja outfits.

"Oh, you mean you're actually gonna help me now instead of just watching from the sidelines?" Randy remarked, brushing off the hand Piper offered to help him up before getting up himself.

"There's no point in us hiding anymore now that Norrisville knows we exist. Besides, if we didn't think you could handle everything McFist and the Sorcerer have been throwing at you, you wouldn't have been the distraction."

"You may not have liked it, but your role was just as important as anyone else's," Cyrus argued.

"That's funny, because it didn't feel that way!" Randy shouted back.

"Guys! Can we argue about this later!" Piper shouted, alerting them to the advancing trio of robot octopi.

"And now that our enemy knows there's more than one of us, they're just going to keep sending more robots!" Cyrus continued, as he dodged one of the octopus tentacles, ran up it and delivered a quick slice to the main body.

"I still would have done just as good a job if you told me I was meant to distract!" Randy yelled, slicing off a tentacle as well.

"You can't possibly know that!"

"Guys! Seriously!" Piper shouted, growing frustrated with their constant bickering.

"Violet, maneuver nine!" Piper quickly sheathed her twin ninjato as Cyrus ran up to her. She put her hands together and bent down as Cyrus stepped onto her hands. With all her might, she thrust her arms back up, pushing Cyrus high into the air above the three robot octopi. He whipped out a ninja sword and began spinning in a circle. As he fell towards the robots, he easily sliced through them with his movement as piece of robot scattered the parking lot, the biggest piece in particular landing right on Slimovitz's car.

"Well, you two have certainly been busy," Randy noted.

"That's what training is for and you can be a part of that, if you can find a way to let this resentment go. This isn't a game, Red, this is a war. The sooner you start getting that, the sooner I can take you seriously, got it? Appear weak when you are strong, appear strong when you are weak."

"Did you get that from your Nomicon?" Randy asked.

"Mine's called the Atlas. And no, that's from Sun Tzu's Art of War. By having you appear to be the only ninja around, we were able to make our enemies feel as though they had the upperhand, which made them overconfident and careless so when the moment came to strike, we'd catch them off guard. Deception is a crucial component to being a ninja. Ask your Nomicon; it'll agree with me."

"Rand...Red," Piper quickly corrected herself, "I know none of this turned out to be what you expected, but we're here and you know about us now. Can't we just put this behind us?" Randy took a look at the hand Piper - someone he thought was his friend, someone he thought he could trust - offered out, but instead of taking it, he disappeared with a smoke bomb.

"I really don't see what the problem is," Howard commented after Randy explained the situation to him, careful to leave out the Green and Violet ninjas identities, since those were not his secret to expose.

"The problem is, Howard, that they lied to me. They made me think that I was the only ninja and had me do all their dirty work when all this time, they're the ones doing the real ninja stuff!"

"Yeah, but didn't they do that in last year's Grave Puncher movie? Remember, Grave Puncher had to go punch some graves but then found out he was actually doing something else that helped a lot of people."

Randy thought for a moment and couldn't help but notice the similarities. "Well, that's..."

"Aaaaand, remember that Grave Puncher was angry at first, but then realized that he helped do a good thing even if he didn't know he was doing it?"

"I guess so..." Randy admitted.

"Look Cunningham, you want to be a part of the ninja stuff now? Then be a part of it! Get over the lies and deception and get your gear in order!" Howard declared, poking Randy's chest with each word for emphasis.

"I guess you're right Howard, which I can't believe I'm saying. And now that I think about it more, if it was the other way around, I'd probably agree with their reasons."

"So, what are you waiting for? Call them up and join in on the ninja stuff! And ask them if you can bring a plus one too!"

"I dunno Howard, I don't think they'd be cool with that," Randy said, scratching the back of his head. Howard spent the rest of the night trying to convince Randy to spill the identities of the Violet and Green ninjas, but Randy kept his mouth shut. Any other day, he'd tell his best friend, but given what he knew about and his experiences with Cyrus, he probably wouldn't be happy with Randy going around revealing his identity.

The next day, Randy walked into one of the many fast food places owned by McFist when he saw Cyrus and Piper through the window. They sat opposite to each other as Randy walked over to them. As he stood in front of the table, the pair stopped their conversation and turned to him. Cyrus simply looked at him with a blank expression while Piper nervously anticipated what he was going to say. "All right, I'm ready to start."

"Good," Cyrus said, getting out from his seat and standing in front of Randy. "You're ready to put the past behind you?"

"Yes," Randy answered as he saw a slight smile form on Piper's face. "So what happens now?"

"Now? Now the real training begins," Cyrus answered.

* * *

**So I noticed a while back I accidentally wrote "Kick Puncher" instead of "Grave Puncher"... XD I must have been watching too much Community .**


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